Chapter 1127: Massacre (III)

Li Hao’s head panted heavily; his body recovered slowly beneath it. In front of him, the Human King Consort’s sword and the Tyrant Sovereign’s boxing glove dropped to the ground—dull and lifeless.

Stellaris... the sword that’d accompanied him for all of his life... was no more. Han Jiang was also gone!

That powerful being had only been initial Saint, but Li Hao paid a greater price to kill him than Earthflare. A much, much greater price.

That day, he could’ve killed Earthflare by himself, even without Zhang An’s help. But today, he required help from the Great Li king and Watercloud empress dowager to kill Han Jiang. It’d taken the detonation of Stellaris to claim a pyrrhic victory!

Such were New Martial powerhouses and their true battle strength.

Han Jiang’s mental strength had been obliterated, but his core origin dao still existed.

“We will... return!” His voice echoed through the void.

Their great dao still existed, they stood a chance of resurrection! They would not die so easily!

......

Nearby.

Yuan Shuo and Zheng Gong were vomiting blood. Zheng Gong glowered forebodingly; Yuan Shuo was nearly completely broken. He was just a pile of shattered bones.

Zheng Gong’s livid expression suddenly changed into a smile. Han Jiang was dead, the peach tree was dead... they’d lost two Saints!

But Li Hao was completely crippled, Yuan Shuo was completely crippled, the Great Li king’s Tyrant Sovereign glove was ruined, the Watercloud empress dowager’s sword of the Human King Consort was ruined, many exalted emperor descendants had fallen into silence, and Wang Ye’s city lord seal was useless...

Li Hao’s trump cards and everything that gave him strength were no more after this fight! Zheng Gong was invincible in the world!

Although he was injured, the wounds weren’t that severe. As crazed as Yuan Shuo was, he hadn’t reached the state of killing a Saint.

“How extraordinary!” Zheng Gong suddenly broke out in laughter. The young man was truly remarkable! He’d brought low battle strength and crazed passion to bear, paying the price of various powerful weapons to kill two Saints.

Up ahead, Yuan Shuo seemed to be dead. There was a pile of shattered, broken bones on the ground. No one looked at it as a living person.

Battle continued on all sides; the army within the city had reached the battlefield. It seemed that Silver Moon’s invasion was ready to end in failure. Although they’d killed many Gold and Silver Armors, they’d also lost numerous Silver Moon martial masters. The Great Li king and Watercloud empress dowager had managed to kill their respective opponents. They, too, were bathed in blood and their bodies broken and battered. Despite that, they were calm.

This battle had already exceeded their expectations. There was nothing to be dissatisfied about with this outcome. The only detail worthy of regret was that there were three Saints in residence at the city. The invaders could’ve won if there was just one less Saint!

But there had been three.

Many lifted an eye to the sky and took a look at the aftermath of the fight above. Some laughed, others cursed lowly. Gan Wuliang was among those who threw out an insult, but one one knew who the man was cursing. Perhaps... it was Li Hao.

If the young man had decided to attack the city of the Hongs, they would’ve won! There might only be one Saint in residence at that city since they were not the traitors. It might not even be fully active yet. Perhaps it would be easy to kill them—Li Hao’s side might have grabbed a resounding victory!

But instead, he chose to attack the ancient city of the Zhengs. There were three Saints here in peak condition; their ambush had killed only one. How was defeat not their destiny? Gan Wuliang was even thinking that they might’ve won if they attacked Battle Heaven!

Their chances were high to do so! The outcome might’ve been different after they took Battle Heaven. And yet, Commander Li’s final gamble in his last moments took in considerations of morality and justice.

But that was nothing if he died!

Only the living could speak of morality and justice, no?

My ambitions and expectations seem to be nothing,

Gan Wuliang thought to himself.

And... Zhang An really isn’t here. Did you expect that, commander?

The man smiled in a self-deprecating manner. He was quite afraid of death and had taken certain actions without Li Hao knowing. For example, Zhang An was unable to leave the ruins because the commander had taken away the ‘dao’ character.

But when the group left the ruins, Gan Wuliang had secretly given Zhang An a body that he’d stolen from the Skystar ruins.

If Zhang An was truly willing, he could utilize that body. Or, since he’d personally experienced so many changes in dao and bodies, he stood a chance of completing the process by himself and forming a body by himself. He possessed the mental strength of a peak Saint, so he would be twenty-four meridians at worst if he went down this path. That would put him on par with Li Hao at fifth level Sun and Moon. If he was here, he would be able to handle a Saint.

But... he wasn’t here!

Did you foresee this, commander?

Li Hao could fight a Saint. If Zhang An changed his dao, physical body, and didn’t need the support of Li Hao’s ‘dao’ character, would he not be able to kill a Saint once he entered another ruin? He would be at the limits of the world and could force more meridians open in battle!

However, the man wasn’t here. Gan Wuliang knew that the commander might not care, but he did!

The man looked around with resignation, seeing so many dead around him. He Yong was dead, Golden Spear was dead, Yu Luocha was dead, many of the old veterans were dead. The lecherous Thunderleg was lying on the ground in the distance, dead at some point in time...

They had completely lost this battle.

......

“Cough cough cough!” Zheng Gong laughed in the air and reached out, retrieving the city lord seal locked into place. “That side’s wanted to eradicate you for the longest time, but failed to do so. Yet here you are, putting your head in the noose. It looks like I’ve won this fight. Although we lost a lot of people to do so, it is worth it to eliminate you!”

He swiftly extracted energy from the surroundings; a vast quantity of Water of Life flowed over him. Immortal level strength shook, healing the injuries that covered him. He looked at Li Hao’s floating head with a smile.

“Li Hao, do you have anything left you can detonate at me?”

The young man didn’t say anything—he stared dumbly at the pile of bones nearby. That was his teacher, and there were a lot fewer familiar faces in the surroundings.

He turned back to the swiftly recovering Zheng Gong. The man didn’t immediately make a move. He seemed to be quite wary, deathly afraid that the young man had other tricks up his sleeve. He needed to be on guard in case Li Hao detonated something else.

The young man’s frail body recovered somewhat. He walked toward his opponent instead of saying anything.

“Are you trying to scare me?” Zheng Gong frowned faintly. “You’ve sacrificed even Stellaris. What else do you have left?”

Li Hao didn’t say a word and continued walking toward the Zheng second son. He stopped by Yuan Shuo’s pile of white bones; his teacher seemed to be dead. The explosion from Stellaris had given him a final blow that shattered all of his persistence.

The young man gently caressed the white bones and looked down below, at where people were still fighting and dying.

“I’ve pictured this kind of ending for this battle,” he smiled. “But hadn’t thought that it would be everyone dying before I did. They died faster than me. I thought that I wouldn’t witness this sort of scene if I left before them, that would be a certain kind of comfort in that as well...

“I want to be like the Human King in that I, my friends, and battle comrades all survive our trials. I wanted to hold back all of the enemy forces with my strength alone. But it is a pity that... I could not do so. I fear that I must disappoint everyone!

“But since we’ve reached this step, how am I willing to accept it?” The tattered ‘dao’ character circled over Li Hao’s head. He looked over the battlefield. “If I am able to win this battle, I will kill all those who stand against me in this world! Whether it is New Martial, Red Moon, the traitors, or anyone else, Li Hao faces no more obstacles after this battle. I hold a clear conscience—Silver Moon is still our Silver Moon!”

A clear conscience!

Martial masters trained the heart. He would no longer owe anyone anything after this battle. The people in front of him were what he sought. They knew they would die, but they forged onward all the same.

Do I need to care anymore about what others think?

Zheng Gong’s expression shifted slightly and he snorted, “If you are able to win?”

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

His punch broke the void as hurtled toward Li Hao. Faint unease was starting to settle in! Although the young man possessed no battle strength whatsoever, he was still anxious.

Li Hao inclined at the waist. “If I am unable to revive everyone after this battle, I will execute all of my enemies in the world as offerings to you guys. I will then spend the rest of my life studying how to save everyone. I will not die that easily!”

He laughed and ripped through the firmament, opening the doorway to the Hao Cosmos! The pile of bones in front of him spontaneously resurrected.

“You should’ve done so much earlier!” Yuan Shuo leapt into the dao universe. “Don’t think too much, I am beyond salvation. I was waiting for you to come and activate the five elements so you can bring glory to the discipline of the Five Elements!”

The bones split apart when they landed in the Hao Cosmos! Five supernatural characters swept through the world, churning through almost all of the great daos in the five sectors.

“Cease your resistance and allow me to devour the five elements!” Yuan Shuo’s voice rang out.

Some immediately stopped resisting the uncomfortable feeling of being stripped of their power. A great quantity of the five elements was immediately taken from elsewhere. Li Hao signed as some of his power was extracted as well. Those on the battlefield skilled in the five elements were instantly killed in the absence of their strength!

Hou Xiaochen was immediately run through as his power of fire dissipated. He watched Li Hao quietly, very calm as the Flaming Phoenix Spear lost its luster in his hand. He smiled faintly and opened his mouth, abruptly exploding in a fiery roar!

I... don’t think I have a chance of marrying Little Yu anymore.

Yuan Shuo split into five in the Hao Cosmos, roiling through the world as the five supernatural characters. When one’s dao meridians were devoured, it might simply be a case of lost fighting abilities if there were no enemies at one’s flank. But being caught on the battlefield, the dissipation of one’s strength meant death.

Zheng Gong’s expression changed rapidly as he punched out, but the ‘dao’ character sparkled and blocked the blow.

The five supernatural characters seemed to have eaten their fill in the dao universe and returned to the ‘dao’ character. Yuan Shuo’s voice rang out with a hint of amusement in it.

“My good disciple, you’ve already killed two Saints. Can your teacher have some fun?”

“Alright!” Li Hao’s eyes dimmed and the ‘dao’ character melded into his body. When he next focused his eyes, it was Yuan Shuo’s presence that brimmed out of his body, not Li Hao’s. The young man threw his head back with laughter.

“I, too, can kill Saints!” ‘Li Hao’ punched out with the force of the five elements and shattered the world.